Paramount, Dreamworks dropping Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD exclusivity
Affiliations in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war have been pretty clearly defined for nearly two years now -- despite a hybrid player here and some international releases there, most of the players involved have not switched support since the early days. Well that's all about to change, as Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation -- which started off HD DVD only before deciding to go both ways -- have officially announced plans to release movies exclusively on HD DVD, dropping Blu-ray support entirely. This means that hits like Transformers, Shrek the Third and Blades of Glory won't follow Mission: Impossible III as cross-format releases when they debut this holiday season. Paramount has released about 30 movies on Blu-ray so far, but those days have come to an end: apparently cheaper HD players trump a 2:1 sales advantage. We can't wait to see how the Blu-ray camp responds to this.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt @ Aug 20th 2007 1:26PM
Not sure how the Blu-ray camp will respond, but I'm guessing that the "HD DVD will be dead by Christmas" crowd won't have much to say.
Evan @ Aug 20th 2007 10:51PM
Hey, well at least since we have a format war it can be interesting now. HD DVD looked like it was fading fast then *blamo* they resupplied their ammunitions.
This will be interesting!
Patrick @ Aug 20th 2007 1:27PM
Holy crap, people, is this as huge as I think it is? Indiana Jones (and most Spielberg movies), Star Trek, and others I can't even think of right now will only be on HD DVD? Am I mistaken or is this an even bigger blow to Blu-ray than Universal announcing Blu-ray support would be to HD DVD?
Brian @ Aug 20th 2007 2:55PM
You're right this is huge news. I have been expecting something like this for some time, although I always thought it would be Warner. Its moves like this that will end the war all together. I saw something big on the horizon with the announcement of Blockbuster going to Blu-ray.
DEEZNUTZ @ Aug 20th 2007 1:29PM
Sh!t. No hope for a winning format. It's a dual format generation for HD movies folks so get used to it.
I hear the stampede of HD-DVD fanboi's coming.
MasterCKO @ Aug 20th 2007 1:44PM
yeah, I agree. Oh well. This is a pretty big victory for HD DVD.
Oz @ Aug 20th 2007 1:35PM
The article should be fixed. Your forgetting to mention this move does not include the Spielberg movies.
"Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new releases day and date as well as catalog titles exclusively on HD DVD. Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format."
http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/NewsText.aspx?RID=1042073
Aygie @ Aug 20th 2007 1:37PM
nope no spielberg movies thats already been stated.
Dave Lynch @ Aug 20th 2007 1:42PM
Anyone knows where the 150M$ is coming from ?
Dave @ Aug 20th 2007 1:46PM
Good luck, Blockbuster!
tlarkin79 @ Aug 20th 2007 1:47PM
I can't wait for Transformers on HD DVD!
tlarkin79 @ Aug 20th 2007 1:49PM
Not sure about those Walmart rumors you've been hearing, but some of the Walmart's near my house in Connecticut do sell a few movies in Blu Ray format, but haven't started selling any HD DVD's yet. I hope they do though. Right now Amazon.com is still my main source for HD DVD movies.
Alex @ Aug 20th 2007 1:53PM
I bet "exclusive" just means something like a 90 day window and the movies will then be released on BD. Regardless, nice to see HD DVD start to fight like Sony, they should have had balls a year ago.
Anthony @ Aug 20th 2007 1:55PM
These two companies fail in the Reseach department.
Flip-flopping back in forth lol.
Give the both of them another 8-12 months and they'll go neutral again.
gamedude420 @ Aug 20th 2007 1:58PM
1 movie series will make or break a formate. STAR WARS , and s far thats going blu ray only since its fox
bfdtv @ Aug 20th 2007 1:58PM
The rumors are ~$50 million for Paramount exclusivity and $100 million for Dreamworks exclusivity. The deal reportedly excludes past movies directed by Steven Spielberg; it does not exclude movies produced by Steven Spielberg like Transformers.
Note this isn't the first time this has happened. Blu-ray was rumored to have paid $50 million for Disney exclusivity and $20 million for FOX. Toshiba is also believed to have paid $50 million or more for Universal exclusivity.
reddplague @ Aug 20th 2007 1:58PM
I'm a big enough man to admitt when I worng. If this is true then the HD-DVD fanboys have just pulled a mircal. If this turn out to be true I am staying away from both players until after X-mas by then there should be a clear winner.
OK!!! Xyzzy and Nfinity you guys can GLOAT NOW!!!! Get your I TOLD YOU US OUT THE WAY.
Agathos @ Aug 20th 2007 2:05PM
I'm with reddplague...
The HD camp just pulled a F*()in miracle!
My first thought was upgrading my 360 to an elite and adding the HD player, but that's ridiculous, fuck this format war, I'm not buying another HD or BD disc, i'm out of this mess...
Michael @ Aug 20th 2007 11:22PM
Redd, it takes a big man to admit it when he is wrong. Nice move, sir. As for those of us who have been in the HD-DVD camp since the beginning (Xyzzy and Nfinity are just two of us) do appreciate hearing that. I'm not entirely sure that if the shoe were on the other foot (which it's NOT, BTW) any of us would man up and admit it the way you just did.
Any one else feel like they just had their asses handed to them today???
DeadPlasmaCell @ Aug 20th 2007 2:01PM
Wow, the plot thickens.
bfdtv @ Aug 20th 2007 2:03PM
> I bet "exclusive" just means something like a 90 day window and the movies will
> then be released on BD.
It's not a 90-day window. The Disney (BD) and Universal (HD-DVD) exclusivity deals were reportedly for two years. Presumably this deal will be for at least that long, if not longer.
gamedude420 @ Aug 20th 2007 2:04PM
sony just needs to grow some balls, and drop the ps3 to 299 with 2 games, and 8 moves and everyone goes bd
ATM94 @ Aug 20th 2007 2:09PM
Wow. Didn't see that coming. The Blu-ray camp likes to talk numbers so here goes. The three largest movies studios (in order) are Warner Bros., Universal, and Paramount. All support HD-DVD and only one supports Blu-ray. Universal and Paramount are larger than Fox, Disney, Sony, Lionsgate, etc. put together. Now the big question is why would Paramount do this instead of remaining neutral> Could it be the Walmart rumors are true and Paramount is just getting out ahead of the curve because they know what is coming for Christmas?
mike @ Aug 20th 2007 2:10PM
Now i'm not as afraid to buy HD DVD's now, I'll go get a couple today! Yay!!!
Liqwid @ Aug 20th 2007 2:16PM
Hells yes! Madagascar's HD DVD exclusive!!!! I hope so much that it comes out. Oh! And Gladiator!
Liqwid @ Aug 20th 2007 2:16PM
Support Paramount! Buy more HD DVDs!
gamedude420 @ Aug 20th 2007 2:21PM
id rather support the better format, bluray, blu ray will win pcs and gameconsoles, and are winning movies, they just need to lower prices
Michael @ Aug 20th 2007 11:26PM
Your SONY Blu-Ray player will look so nice next to your Betamax too!
Been there, done that. Beta was far superior to VHS but guess which one was cheaper and ended up selling better in the end?
JBDragon @ Aug 21st 2007 1:02AM
What's better about Blu-Ray? The Double Copy protection? BD+ isn't being used YET. Oh I know, the Extra 20 gig's of space? Can't be that since Movies in either format look and sound just as good and yet many of the HD DVD disc versions have extra content that BLu-Ray lacks. The Movie "300" is a good example of this.
Is it the features Blu-Ray is capable of? NO as Blu-Ray is basically still in BETA and won't be finalized until October, where it will then have features HD DVD already supports, except a Ethernet port will still be a option. SO you could end up buying a player without one and can't download extra content! Plus anyone with a stand alone player now are out of luck. Need a NEW Blu-Ray player to play the new Blu-Ray disc's if you want to see the extra content, though you should be safe with the PS3. Oh I know, you like the Region Coding for Blu-Ray Movies! Not me, I like Region FREE that HD DVD has. That way I can buy these supposedly Blu-Ray only movies in HD DVD format from other countries without problem. That increases the number of HD DVD movies I can pick from much greater yet! Must be all the Studio Support Blu-Ray has then as I can't think of anything else. Oh wait, It's all Sony owned Studios now except for FOX that is Blu-Ray ONLY. Yet the HD DVD Camp now have far better and Larger HD DVD only support now.
I don't get it, what does Blu-Ray have that's just so much better? I fingered it out, SONY. That's what you have. No thanks. I don't like DRM infected CD's, and Fake Movie Critics, or Exploding Battery's, and really, the TV's these days, just not what they used to be. Now all your paying for is a NAME, with the better Quality from other company's these days. Hey, good luck with Blu-Ray, maybe it won't be another Betamax, MD Disc, UMD Disc, SACD, Memory Stick, etc...
hemmy @ Aug 20th 2007 2:22PM
Huge moneyhat, will be interesting to see that moneytrail. Quite amusing considering Paramount titles were selling in greater numbers on blu-ray (as is typically the case with neutral releases at Warner), and that they just started favoring blu-ray versions with better encodes/bitrates...
Looks like HDDVD got a temporary stay of execution :)
Russ @ Aug 20th 2007 2:29PM
Awesome news! Great decision by Paramount/DreamWorks. My new HD DVD player will be on order within the week! Can't wait.
Simple Panda @ Aug 20th 2007 2:35PM
Oh yay - Microsoft, Toshiba, Paramount and Dreamworks just condemned Blu-ray and HD-DVD to the realm of Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio - a split, fragmented market that, due it's non-unified status, will keep all but the most bleeding edge adopters out.
Microsoft has it's way - HD on optical will never happen now. Here's hoping 1080p downloads show up on Live marketplace to compensate for this total screwing over of the market at large.
Paul Fernandez @ Aug 20th 2007 2:38PM
Whoa, Nelly! This is HUGE, even more than Lionsgate and Disney on Marketplace, and without sounding like some pimple-faced fanboy with hygiene problems (and whorendis gramur), there is no amount of copy in the press or the "blogosphere" that can convey what HD DVD owners/supporters must be feeling right now.
@ ATM94
Thanks for that tidbit. I always knew Universal and Paramount were, well, universal and paramount to HD DVD's survival (hee hee), but we all know that Warner has not so secretly been in favor of HD DVD despite being format neutral. Now, THEY become the one studio that can significantly swing this war in one direction depending on a simple announcement.
@ gamedude420
Yes, not having the FIRST THREE Star Wars movies on HD DVD is a sore spot, but this will hardly decide a winner in the format. NONE of Spielberg's or Lucas' movies (DIRECTED, not produced) have been released on either format thus far, but that hasn't prevented soaring sales on BOTH sides. This announcement will all but guarantee more HD DVD sales, but IMO, more people are looking forward to the LOTR trilogy in all its glory. Those films are epic and made to showcase high definition.
Sometimes, all it takes is one huge company to take a stand against another one trying to force a format on unsuspecting consumers. Oh yeah, Blockbuster can go jump in a lake. Bet they're feelin' kinda DUMB right now. Hooray for NetFlix for not being shortsighted and supporting BOTH formats!
Xyzzy @ Aug 20th 2007 2:43PM
@gamedude20: "blu ray will win pcs"
Actually, Toshiba is one of the largest laptop manufacturers in the world, and they're beginning to put their HD DVD drives in the them...
@hemmy: "Quite amusing considering Paramount titles were selling in greater numbers on blu-ray (as is typically the case with neutral releases at Warner),"
Not really that amusing. Let's look at '300.' Yes, it outsold HD DVD by roughly 2:1 margin (what was it, 180,000 vs 90,000?). Now how many of those 180,000 people were format neutral? I'd bet quite a few, based on the numerous posts I read here and elsewhere, saying, "I'm buying the BD version because it's a couple of dollars cheaper, I don't care that it has more features!" That means that if Warner were to be HD DVD exclusive, they still would've sold maybe 140,000 titles (impossible to predict for sure, but it seems like a reasonable estimate). Yes, that's less than 270,000, but the numbers are so small right now that it really doesn't make that big of a difference.
Now what IS amusing is the fact that the only place I can find that references this "$150M payout" is the blu-ray.com site. THAT'S funny (and something I would've expected to read here -- so I'm glad I didn't).
jefflmercer @ Aug 20th 2007 2:49PM
i wonder how long this war is going to last. I mean anyone have an idea how long beta max fought it out before it just stopped and gave up.
Michael @ Aug 20th 2007 11:47PM
Jeff, Sony introduced the first Betamax machine in 1975 however consumers did not really embrace the format until about 1979 or 1980. I bought my first Beta recorder in 1981 for nearly $1000. I bought my fourth and final recorder in 1998 and still have many Beta cassettes archived away with this machine. Sony championed their format for about ten good years worth of sales however the format itself produced machines from 1975 all the way up to 2002. I'd say we're in for a long war if it is to be anything like the Beta/VHS format war was...
http://www.myspace.com/scoobarama
Paul Fernandez @ Aug 20th 2007 2:53PM
And before anyone replies with some lame, unsubstantiated comment, I have a link for you. Notice the line that says "...leading studio in domestic box office." That would be Paramount, headed by Brad Grey, the man behind such unimportant shows like "The Sopranos."
No fanboyism here, just the facts.
http://dvd.themanroom.com/dvd-newsview.php?id=678
Kevin Murphy @ Aug 20th 2007 2:57PM
The Godfather
Star Trek in all forms
Friday the 13th
Hunt for Red October, etc
Forest Gump
Titanic
Saving Private Ryan
And having said that, I'd much rather that ALL studios went neutral. I hate cartels, and hate to cheer for one.
Erin @ Aug 20th 2007 3:17PM
I think Fox owns the rights to Titanic as well... so that'll be interesting.
domerdel @ Aug 20th 2007 6:09PM
KM:
Fox and Paramount are co-production companies for Titanic... interesting.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_20th_Century_Fox_movies
reddplague @ Aug 20th 2007 2:58PM
So does this mean Blu-ray will win the Pc market with th eblu-ray burner?
I haven't seen a HD-DVD burner yet.
Kevin Murphy @ Aug 20th 2007 3:03PM
This is interesting: ""We decided to release Shrek the Third and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience families," stated DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg. "We believe the combination of this years low- priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home."
Single adult males are prime buyers of PS3s and are the backbone of Blu-ray, and this can be reflected in the BD exclusive movie releases.
Families tend to be more cost-conscious (try raising 3 kids on a budget) and often can't just buy one of a thing. Kids have issues sharing. So they are larger buyers of HD DVDs, and this is again reflected in the movie release mix.
reddplague @ Aug 20th 2007 3:07PM
Round 3
Toshiba hit sony with a hard right jab knocks Sony to the mate. The crowd screams GET UP SONY!!! GET UP!!!!.
joe @ Aug 20th 2007 3:11PM
Wow. This isn't nearly as big as if Universal went neutral but it is still a big event.
There will now be absolutely no winner in the format war. Universal and Paramount together are big enough to have a format all to their own. Universal alone couldn't carry it.
I was really hoping that at least someone would win as opposed to simply dragging the consumers over the coals for maximum profit.
Larry @ Aug 20th 2007 3:12PM
I think this proves that studio support is not the end all and be all in this format scuffle. The studios will go where the money is, they always have and they always will.
Alex @ Aug 20th 2007 3:26PM
I stated on a earlier BluRay news item that the BD 2:1 lead is actually a bad sign. My reasoning is that that sales were drastically under the amount of BD players on the market (umm PS3) compared to the sales of movies vs. players of HD DVD.
Sony/BD relying on the PS3 is also short sighted, how many 6 year olds own a PS3?
So after this big announcment Paramount/Dreamworks mention "families" as being an important part of their decision (besides the $incentives$ I assume). Then I saw this quote:
Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution, said market data shows that people who own gaming consoles buy fewer movies than those who invest in a high-definition player that only plays movies.
Dependence of PS3 coming back to bite BluRay?
Hey DAVE, HD DUD????
Jim @ Aug 20th 2007 3:28PM
This is very surprising news. All the latest press really had me thinking the momentum was swinging towards BD. I bought a Toshiba HD-DVD A2 player earlier this year because of the price. It upscales regular DVD great so I figured I would just have to *suffer* and watch the upscaled DVD of any BD exclusive titles. And if HD-DVD lost then I had a wonderful upscaling DVD player. It was really looking like BD was set to take over the US and Japan, and HD-DVD seemed like the choice of the rest of the globe. Now who knows. This is too crazy. The HD experience is virtually identical on both and HD-DVD is cheaper, so maybe that is what they are thinking????
I was really glad to see BG Season 1 is releasing on HD-DVD though! :)
John Lyons @ Aug 20th 2007 3:41PM
Excellent news as far as I can tell.
I use both formats and to my eyes, HD-DVD generally looks better. Isn't that what it's about at the end of the day?
Things may improve as BR seem to have dropped the MPEG2 codec.....
Wonder what the BR Fanboys over at the Bits make of this news? Interesting to see how they report this news...Some sort of spin on it no doubt!
mike @ Aug 20th 2007 3:49PM
this announcment + region free discs, finalized specs, cheap xmas players = game over blu-ray.
I dont own either format myself, but having been cheering for hd-dvd ever since. multi format releases always look better on hd-dvd and theres just way more benifits to the consumer for hd-dvd. I dont understand why all the blu-ray supporters like blu-ray. Out of hundreds of differences between blu-ray and hd-dvd, the only advantage blu-ray seems to have is space, and thats hardly anything to choose a format over.
Nfinity @ Aug 20th 2007 3:55PM
Insiders are saying now that we should expect more great suprising news for HD DVD at the next CEDIA.
@reddplague
Dude, I can't speak for Xyzzy but I don't have the need to "gloat" really. I am just glad that the consumers get to win this one. Again, $500+ for players that will not offer full features because the format was unfinished and completely unneccessary DRM was a bad thing. I am glad that you might be considering an HD DVD player as you will realize that there's absolutely no difference between the 2 in quality but you will get a much more flexible experience, less hassle, more features and you'll end up paying $149 if you have an XBox or $199-$250 if you look real for standalones.
The payoff speculations are simply BDA response to try to wash off a bit of this huge impact.
If you read Paramount's release it's very simple why they went HDDVD.
1. Cheaper production of discs on HD DVD
2. Incredibly efficient and smooth development along with great dev support from MS for iHD. Unlike BD-J who have caused many studios headaches and almost non-existant support. Just ask the producers of Dragon's Lair BD title. HD DVD iHD just works and it is supported by all players without any problems.
3. sub $200 players that will hit stores this holiday season making it a no brainer for anyone who wants to go hi-def without braking their budget